Help Prevent Cervical Cancer with HPV Vaccine

1/18/2012

HOUSTON -- Getting the human papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccine provides an important preventative benefit against cervical cancer, said a gynecologic oncologist from Baylor College of Medicine.

"Disease prevention and early detection are key in the battle against cancer," said Dr. Celestine Tung, an assistant professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology in the division of gynecologic oncology at BCM. "With cervical cancer, now we have a way to prevent it with the HPV vaccine."

Approximately 95 percent of cervical cancers are associated with HPV infections, and between 70 to 80 percent of cervical cancers are related to HPV 16 and HPV 18 viral subtypes or strains, Tung said.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection affecting between 30 to 90 percent of sexually active women. Most of the time, a woman's body will fight off the virus on its own and resolve within 12 months, with 90 percent of women clearing the virus after two years, Tung said.